UEFA Champions League Group Stage Games- 11/24/2010

Well first off, SL Benfica have been eliminated from the Champions League. They lost 3-0 in their match against Hapoel Tel Aviv. While Benfica pressured, the Tel Aviv side scored a goal in the first half, and two goals in the second including the third goal in stoppage time. Hapoel's victory gives an Israeli club the first Champions League group stage win since 2004. History may continue to be made if Hapoel defeat French side Lyon while depending on Schalke 04 to drop Benfica one more time. An awful fact for the Portuguese: they had  21 corners throughout the game. Hapoel Tel Aviv only had 2 and actually converted. In the other Group B match today, Schalke 04 performed admirably well at home to trounce French giants Lyon 3-0. The Germans scored 2 goals in the first half, through Farfán and Huntelaar, and then a third in the 89th minute by Huntelaar again to seal the deal. The result puts Schalke 04 into the knock out round while the French need to win their next match, against the Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv. The performance also gives Schalke a 100% home record throughout the group stage. As predicted, the Group C match-up between Rangers and Manchester United was very close: it was only decided by a Wayne Rooney penalty in the 89th minute! While United started strong, the home crowd was an obvious boost for the Scots as they provided several goal-scoring opportunities, but no goals. That was the story on both sides until the penalty which closed the game, putting United into the last 16. Valencia meanwhile also qualified from Group C after absolutely destroying their Turkish opposition Bursaspor: the Spanish were up 4-0 by the end of the first half and, other than a Batalla goal close to the 70th minute for Bursaspor, controlled the second half as well, scoring another pair of goals to end the game 6-1. Mata, Soldado, Aduriz, Joaquín, and Domínguez were the sources for Valencia's goals. Rubin Kazan on the other hand, in Group D, actually won against FC København. The victory came from a penalty goal by Christian Noboa in stoppage time of the first half. The win Rubin's first, actually gives them the possibility of qualifying for the next round! If Barcelona take it easy on the Russians, they may be able to get through, so long as the right result comes from København's game with Panathinaikos FC. Barca and Pana's game in the meantime was quite something else. Two goals from Pedro Rodríguez, one in the first and one in the second half, as well as a Lionel Messi goal in the second half as well puts Barcelona through to the next round. Panathinaikos have now been eliminated but could hope for some saving of face in their next match against FC København. England's Tottenham Hotspur were another force of wreckage, as they obliterated injury-filled German side Werder Bremen 3-0 today. Two goals in the first half, by Kaboul and Modric, and a third in the second half by Peter Crouch decided Group A and was certainly enough to pass Tottenham into the knock-out stages in the first time trying with a game to spare. Inter Milan v.s. FC Twente in Group A was the other big match that saw the holders only able to edge the Dutch masters out ten minutes into the second half by way of a strike from Esteban Cambiasso. While there were other chances, the game was really a dead-ringer. So congrats to all the teams that will be in the knock out round (Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia CF, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern München, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan), and good luck to those still vying for a position!